Happy Ha-ha-holidays, everyone, and welcome to a special edition of Flashback Friday. We’ve dusted off a few of our favorite reads from Christmases past (some not so very past, really), but they’re holiday romances that have warmed our hearts and cheered us from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes, and we wanted to share those warm feelings with all of you.

If you’d like the chance to win a couple of the e-books we’ve featured today, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

Good luck!

I’ll Runaway for the Holidays was written in 2010, and was the first M/M romance holiday story I ever read. Incidentally, it was also my first Stephanie Hecht book. I loved it and the author’s writing style, so I sought out more of her many works. The story is one of the first on my re-read list for the holidays, and I love how all of Stephanie Hecht’s characters get their happy endings.

This story is everything great in a feel good holiday romance. It isn’t real angsty, has sexy times between two fun characters that have a sort of quirky frenemies-to-lovers relationship, as well as some life lessons thrown in for good measure. Add in the crazy antics of Madison and Anson’s family, and this book was laugh out loud funny. There’s also some seriousness in the story dealing with Anson’s grandfather, but it was delicately handled and filled out the story for me from being just cute to complete. The sweet epilogue was adorable, too.

Scott Cooper has never liked the holidays. So when his best friend, Madison, asks him to travel to her childhood home to celebrate Christmas, he can’t refuse fast enough. Scott doesn’t even get along with his own family, so the last thing he wants is to get saddled with her relatives for a whole week of snow and holiday cheer. Madison is good at getting what she wants, though, and before he knows it, Scott finds himself in for a seventeen-hour drive back to their home state of Michigan.

Just as Scott is getting adjusted to the idea of having to deal with Madison’s crazy family, another one of her relations joins in for the car trip; her very sexy, very younger brother, Anson. Not only is Anson still in college, but he’s the baby of the family, both of which should make him hands-off for Scott. To Scott’s horror and joy, however, Anson doesn’t want Scott to keep his hands to himself. The younger man immediately makes it clear that Scott is the only present he wants to unwrap for Christmas.

Holiday miracles can happen to anyone, or so Scott would like to believe. And it will take true magic for him and Anson to survive the holiday with their sanity intact, let alone for them to find a happily ever after…

When Lisa asked for favorite Holiday reads, I knew immediately one of the stories I wanted to highlight. This story was part of the Dreamspinner Christmas Advent Calendar from 2011 – the first year after I had started reading M/M and knew about Dreamspinner. The name of the story is A Wealth of Unsaid Words and it was written by R. Cooper. Fair warning that this is a difficult but beautiful story. It’s in many ways a heartbreaking story of two men who have been apart because one of them has a mental illness that he believes threatens both of their happiness. They spend the holidays together and try to find their way.

The words that I used to capture my first impressions of this story were as follows:

Stunningly beautiful. The hell and hope of mental illness strikingly described. The fragility of Alex’s “sanity” and life brilliantly expressed. Ultimately about the strength and power of love and hope. Amazing. Touching. Painful. Beautiful. Poetic. I LOVED this.

I raved about this story and a friend who is bipolar saw that and she read it right away – thank god she also loved it since I was worried about recommending it! Little did I realize that a few short years later, I would have a family member who would be diagnosed bipolar and is struggling mightily. And it will be a lifelong struggle. There is much pain for him and all of us who love him. It’s devastating and heartbreaking the impact it’s having on his life.

This story gives me hope and I hope will give anyone else hope who reads it. It really is ultimately a beautifully written story of love and acceptance and hope. I urge everyone to give it a try.

Alex has always known his bipolar disorder made him too flawed for his boyhood hero, Everett. So when his feelings for Everett became overwhelming, he forced a separation that saddened them both but gave Alex the clarity he needed. Now a year has passed, and he and Everett are together again when Everett’s noisy, imperfect family reunites for Christmas, pulling Alex into their chaotic warmth the way they always have. Can Everett convince Alex that, in spite of his fears, starting a relationship would make for the perfect holiday?

It’s always been a game of cat and mouse. A dangerous game both men have enjoyed. Noel is fascinated with the staid FBI agent, and they recognize in each other a worthy adversary. Unable to keep away from the flame, Noel gives in one New Year’s Eve and allows himself the touch of the man he is desperately in love with but knows he can never have. Fast forward 10 years, and there the man stands on Noel’s front porch—all crackling electric and ice cold in more ways than one on Christmas Eve. You can feel the sparks coming off the page – so much attraction – so much mistrust – it’s amazing!

This is a second chance story between two very complicated men. You would think that with two such weighty protagonist that the story would drag, but the author brings in such witty and tension-breaking secondary characters that it keeps this story flowing and downright entertaining. Llamas. Yeah, llamas. That’s all I’m saying.

Josh Lanyon is the queen of the short story, no one writes them better than her, and this story is no exception. The pacing here is something few authors can achieve in a short. Plus, I enjoy authors who put subtle nuggets into their writing; here it’s an FBI agent named Cuffe and a thief named Noel Snow. Yes, Cuffe finally gets “snow” for Christmas. Love it!

On the eve of the new millennium, diamond thief Noel Snow seduced FBI special agent Robert Cuffe, then fled into the dawn. Now a successful novelist, Noel uses his capers as fodder for his books, and has modeled his hero’s nemesis (and potential love interest) on Cuffe. Though he leaves Robert a drunken phone message every New Year’s Eve, Noel hasn’t seen or heard from him in a decade.

So he’s thrilled when his former lover shows up at his upstate farm one Christmas Eve. Elation quickly turns to alarm when Robert accuses Noel of being responsible for a recent rash of diamond heists. Robert is all business and as cold as ice: it seems his only interest in Noel is to put him behind bars.

Innocent of the crimes, and still as attracted as ever to the oh-so-serious lawman, Noel plans a second seduction–providing he can stay out of jail long enough!

Will is returning home after several years of near non-communication with his parents. When confronted with the fact that their son was gay, Will’s parents turned to their overly zealous Pastor and church for guidance in dealing with the shocking revelation. The more they denied who he was and tried to “pray the gay away,” the more fractured their relationship became. A few years pass, and Will realizes his dream of becoming a published author. He also uses his novel as a sort of cathartic experience, detailing under the guise of a fictional story, the pain he went through with his family. During this time, letters from home go largely unread, and Will keeps his parents at bay in order to cope with the pain of their rejection.

However, what Will doesn’t know is how his parents have changed, how much they have finally come to understand how their blind beliefs pushed their son away. As the years progressed, they moved away from their church to one much more tolerant and take in a young man named Ryan, whose own life actually mirrors in many ways exactly what happened with Will and his parents. When Will finally returns home for Christmas, he is met with what is akin to a substitute son who is not only loved but fully accepted. While he grapples with the various emotions this unleashes within him, he is least prepared for the blooming attraction he has for Ryan. Now Will must both confront his parents over their painful past behavior and come to terms with how he feels about Ryan.

The Healing Power of Eggnog is artfully simple yet so multi-layered with emotional overtones it seems to capture one’s heart and mind so very thoroughly without the reader realizing. As is par for the course for this author, the characters are both realistic and intentionally flawed, yet self-aware and never pandering—never shallow or cookie cutter.

When Lisa put out the call for our favorite Christmas stories, I didn’t even have to think twice before grabbing this gem from the past. It was one of the first things I read by author Jamie Fessenden and solidified for me that this author would be an auto-buy for me in the future. This author’s skill at writing emotionally genuine characters makes him one of the best authors on the m/m scene today. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did–and still do.

Will Sutherland hasn’t been home to see his parents in four years—not since they reacted badly when he came out. This Christmas, he’s finally worked up the courage to go home, where he’s surprised to find they’ve taken in a boarder. Ryan Bennett is just a couple years younger than Will, cute, sweet… and openly gay.

As Will deals with his jealousy of the man who’s been receiving the love and acceptance he was denied, Ryan finds himself falling for Will’s brooding good looks. But Ryan also suspects the Sutherlands may be using him as a pawn in their long-standing conflict with their son. Will this Christmas finally tear the family apart, or is there a chance they can put their hurt and anger behind them?

When asked to choose a favorite story for a special holiday blog post, I didn’t even have to think about it. I’m a Christmas girl. Without a doubt my favorite time of year. So, I look forward to all of the Christmas books every year, and there are MANY that I completely adore. But, hands down, my favorite M/M Christmas story is Blame it on the Mistletoe by Eli Easton.

Fielding Monroe is one of my favorite characters ever. I’m a big fan of quirky – and, Fielding has quirks for days! Here is a bit from my review when I first read it:

I don’t think I can adequately describe how much I adored Fielding. His character is obviously reminiscent of Sheldon Cooper, from the T.V. show Big Bang Theory; but, Fielding is even more endearing. Mick, who is also fabulous, just rolls with all of his new housemate’s quirks, and the two of them quickly become best friends. Mick is a natural caretaker, and takes on the role of teaching Fielding many things.

Things certainly get complicated when Fielding decides that one of the things he wants Mick to teach him is how to kiss…but, what happens is anything but predictable. While I think it can be very difficult to write a really strong, believable GFY storyline, Easton does an excellent job here. The timing and pace of the story are perfect. There is obviously going to be some awkwardness and tension, and that is all there. The genuine fondness, admiration, and eventually love that these two feel for each other really jump off the page. I was hooked from beginning to end.

I have read this book three times, and listened to the audio twice, and, I’ll undoubtedly read it again. If you have yet to read this one, I highly recommend you do! Eli Easton also has Fielding’s Fa-La-La, which is a must read also, available for free on her blog. Go check it out! Or, read it again if you already have. :)

When physics grad student Fielding Monroe and skirt-chaser and football player Mick Colman become college housemates, they’re both in for a whole new education. Mick looks out for the absent-minded genius, and he helps Fielding clean up his appearance and discover all the silly pleasures his strict upbringing as a child prodigy denied him. They become best friends.

It’s all well and good until they run into a cheerleader who calls Mick the ‘best kisser on campus.’ Fielding has never been kissed, and he decides Mick and only Mick can teach him how it’s done. After all, the physics department’s Christmas party is coming up with its dreaded mistletoe. Fielding wants to impress his peers and look cool for once in his life. The thing about Fielding is, once he locks onto an idea, it’s almost impossible to get him to change his mind. And he just doesn’t understand why his straight best friend would have a problem providing a little demonstration.

Mick knows kissing is a dangerous game. If he gives in, it would take a miracle for the thing not to turn into a disaster. Then again, if the kissing lessons get out of hand they can always blame it on the mistletoe.

As I was searching through my memories trying to find a Christmas favorite, sooooo many titles came to mind: RJ Scott’s The Christmas Throwaway, Amy Rae Durreson’s Gaudete, Gale Stanley’s Bashert, L.B. Gregg’s Waiting for Winter, the books in Charlie Cochet’s North Pole City Tales series… I love a great holiday romance. The book that finally won the day, though, is a book that had me giddy with Christmas glee.

That book is Josephine Myles’ Merry Gentleman, a book I read and reviewed not all that long ago–back in November of 2013. And can I just say I think I must’ve been on some kind of Christmas crack when I wrote it? ::smh::

The first thing you have to appreciate about Myles’ writing is the thoroughly English charm of her characters. I absolutely adore Christmas stories and their sugarplum sweetness, so leave it to this author to write a holiday treat that takes place around Christmastime but has little to do with the miracles and the fa-la-la-la-la, and everything to do with romantic complications, with much hilarity and bird poop thrown in just for fun. Yes, there’s a point to the poop. It’s pointedly practical poop, relevant to the plot and character development, even, so there. Read and you’ll understand.

Myles breaks a tropey little mold in her story, taking the standard boy-meets-boy, boy-loses-boy, boy-gets-boy back formula and giving it a little twist, in that when the story opens, Riley and Stan had already met and were kaput well before the reader even gets the chance to relish in the angst of their breakup. But wait, it’s okay because when the country mouse comes back to the city, and the city mouse gets a gander at his ex-toppy git country mouse, it doesn’t take long to figure out there will still be plenty of “can I smack some sense into these two guys?” moments to get through, all to scratch and satisfy your angsty-loving itch.

Riley MacDermott’s ambitions are simple. Managing the annual Bath Christmas Market—which involves long hours in the cold and a whole lot of hassle—will secure the promotion he needs to afford to move out of his noisy, top-floor flat. Where not even his balcony is safe from an aggressive herring gull.

The last stallholder he expects to see is his ex. Riley never recovered from their break up, and five years on the old chemistry still sparkles. So does their habitual head butting.

Stan never wanted to leave the love of his life, but the pull of the woods was too strong—and Riley was firmly planted in the city. Reconnecting is painful, but Stan still jumps at the chance to stay with his old flame during the Market. And damn the consequences.

As the weeks pass, the two grow closer than ever. But despite scorching sex and cozy intimacy, they both know they face a cold and lonely future. Unless one of them can compromise.

Warning: Contains sex in a shed, a seagull with a grudge, glamping, awful Secret Santa underwear, misuse of an Abba song, and as many wood-related puns as the author thought she could get away with.

At a Glance: Short stories and the supernatural and this pair of authors combine to make for some really good reading.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: When boy meets (supernatural) boy

Buckle up as two queens of British gay romance take you on a whistlestop tour of all things paranormal. Vampires, genies, ghosts, magicians and shifters all get their chance for a bit of boy on boy action, in five erotic stories that span the range from the humorous to the sublime.

Will you seek to make your fortune with magic and ritual, or pin your hopes on a genie’s power to grant wishes? Discover a shifty young man on a Scottish shoreline, meet a hapless garlic farmer who’s been turned into one of the undead–and if you dare to venture into the cellar, gird your loins for a horny ghost!

These stories have all been previously published, but are now available exclusively in this anthology.

Review: Some authors you read no matter what: don’t care about the blurb, don’t care about the sub-genre, you just read them. Josephine Myles and JL Merrow happen to be two such authors for me. Combine this with my love of short stories, and Boys Who Go Bump in the Night was pretty much a guaranteed win.

Several of the stories in this anthology are short enough I might even call them flash fiction, but the common theme (besides the fact they’re all previously published) is that they share a paranormal/fantasy element, and some of them are just purely erotic and don’t play at being otherwise. JL Merrow starts the collection with Leeches and Layabouts, and the first thing that stands out is that the story is told with the author’s trademark sense of humor and gift for taking a fairly mundane human woe and turning it into a clever boy-meets-vampire story. A vampire who grows garlic? Yep. A human who loves living off of government assistance just a little too well. Yep. It’s the perfect marriage of need and want when Art interviews for a job with Crispin, who loves his garlic but can no longer eat it because, well…vampire. But ingenuity abounds, and Crispin gets both his man and his garlic fix.

A horny incubus in Something Queer, blood magic and stone circles in Sacrifice add to the mix of supernatural offered in this anthology, leading to the final two tales. JL Merrow’s Et in Orcadia is my absolute favorite of the five in the collection. It’s a story that blends the tragedy of lost love, the romanticism of man’s call to the sea, and a mysterious stranger who knows that call better than any human. But he also knows the allure of the land and the desire to comfort a man in his grief. A grief they both share. I loved the emotional intimacy of Runi and David’s story, brief though it was. It did a fantastic job of plucking at my sentimental heartstrings.

Finally, bookending the lighthearted beginning of Boys Who Go Bump in the Night is Josephine Myles’ One Last Wish, a fun and sweet little story about a poor genie who’s just tired of being imprisoned in his lamp for the past two hundred years. Scott is the lucky human to rub Xavier’s lamp just the right way—three wishes are his—but Scott ends up surprising Xavier with the way he chooses to use them. And then, well, they end up rubbing each other just the right way.

If you love one of these authors, or both of them, and love a good short story, I don’t think you can go wrong with this collection.

If you were granted three wishes, what would you spend them on?

Today JL Merrow and Josephine Myles are here talking all things magic, in celebration of of their latest paranormal anthology, Boys Who Go Bump in the Night. The last story in the anthology features the classic genie in the lamp trope, so we wondered what three wishes the authors would choose, should they ever be surprised by a genie when polishing a lamp.

Jo: I think this is highly unlikely as I hate using Brasso, but let’s just imagine a genie might respond to my cursory occasional use of a feather duster…

Hmm, wishes are tricky things. They have a way of backfiring and being taken too literally–a lesson I learned through reading Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story pretty much every year during my childhood. So what I’d need to come up with is a set of wishes that are bulletproof. I’m going to have to ponder some more. What do you reckon, Jamie?

Jamie: You’ve made me think, there. I was going to wish for all my novels to magically plot themselves as I write them, but now I’m thinking of all the ways that could go horribly wrong. I could end up writing in an entirely different genre!

Jo: I think wishing for long term health and happiness for you and your loved ones has got to be a safe wish, right? That’s my first. For me and my loved, ones, obviously. You can do your own wish, Jamie!

Jamie: Maybe it’s just me, but even with that I can see a possible twist–you could, say, be kept alive indefinitely on life support and your system flooded with mood enhancing drugs, which might technically qualify, mightn’t it? Then again, in the stories it’s usually the “greedy” wishes that get punished, not the relatively modest and benign ones like this, so maybe you’re safe!

Jo: I hope so! Okay, second wish: a five bedroom detached country house with a large garden and swimming pool. I’m not going so ridiculously large that I lose the family in there, but big enough to have a “me” room I can escape into and keep all my sewing stuff there. I have a lot of sewing stuff. Oh, and it has to be within ten miles of my current address. I’m not having that pesky genie dump me down in deepest, darkest Wales, thank you very much. (the author would like to point out that she loves Wales. She just doesn’t want to live there!)

Jamie: Living as I do near St Albans, where a massive sinkhole recently opened up and narrowly missed swallowing a family home, maybe it’s my inner cynic but I’m not sure I’d trust any house a genie chose to put me in! Maybe one of my wishes ought to be for a map of underground mines in the local area. ;)

Third and last wish, Jo?

Jo: Umm, it’s a toss up between having my own personal time machine or a household robot that would do all the chores for me. Actually, what am I saying? The robot would win every time. Just imagine never having to mow the lawn or clean the toilet! I’m afraid my wishes are all rather domestic. I must be getting old!

What’s your last wish? Maybe it should be world peace or something altruistic…

Jamie: *looks shifty* So probably not the endless supply of red wine and chocolate I was thinking of, then? ;)

Giveaway: one lucky commenter will win a book of their choice from both Jo and Jamie’s backlists!

Contest closes at midnight Pacific time on Saturday, November 28, 2015.

Good luck!

Boys Who Go Bump in the Night

A Mad About the Brit Boys collection

When boy meets (supernatural) boy

Buckle up as two queens of British gay romance take you on a whistlestop tour of all things paranormal. Vampires, genies, ghosts, magicians and shifters all get their chance for a bit of boy on boy action, in five erotic stories that span the range from the humorous to the sublime.

Will you seek to make your fortune with magic and ritual, or pin your hopes on a genie’s power to grant wishes? Discover a shifty young man on a Scottish shoreline, meet a hapless garlic farmer who’s been turned into one of the undead–and if you dare to venture into the cellar, gird your loins for a horny ghost!

These stories have all been previously published, but are now available exclusively in this anthology.

JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.

She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and her novella Muscling Through and novel Relief Valve were both EPIC Awards finalists.

JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers’ Circle and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.

English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

Jo publishes regularly with Samhain, and now has over ten novels and novellas under her belt. Her novel Stuff won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Romance, and her novella Merry Gentlemen won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy. She has also been known to edit anthologies and self-publish on occasion, although she prefers to leave the “boring bits” of the ebook creation process to someone else. She loves to be busy, and is currently having fun trying to work out how she is going to fit in her love of writing, dressmaking and attending cabaret shows in fabulous clothing around the demands of a preteen with special needs and a soon-to-be toddler.

*Entrants must be 18 years or older to qualify
*Some residency restrictions may apply
*All comments must be relevant to the author’s prompt to be eligible (when applicable)
*The Novel Approach will not be held liable for prize delivery unless otherwise specified
*Void where prohibited by law

At a Glance: What I really enjoyed about Scrap was the characters and the plot both had depth to them.

Reviewed By: Kim

Blurb: When things come to a head, there’s nowhere to go but down…

On the surface, Derek “Call Me Dare” Nelson’s life is simple, doing up custom camper vans while living in a slightly illegal caravan in his riverfront yard. When a handsome, smooth-talking developer offers to buy the land out from under his feet, Dare realizes it’s the same man he had to escort home from a party months ago for causing a drunken scene.

Grant Matravers lives a double life, attempting to adjust to weekends as a single, divorced gay man while staying closeted at work. The strain of keeping up the part-time pretense, missing his kids, and now a problematic attraction to the shave-headed, tattooed Dare, has worn his emotional barriers dangerously thin.

Dare blasts through those barriers in a way Grant isn’t prepared for, challenging everything he thought he knew about himself as a gay man. But as their chemistry heats up and the intimacy between them grows, Grant edges toward a decision that could blow up in his face. Exposing a hornet’s nest of complications that could destroy any chance for happily ever after.

Review: Though Scrap is the third book in Josephine Myles’ Bristol Collection, it’s possible it could be read as a standalone, but my experience has taught me well—if there are previous books in a series, it’s best to read them in order to avoid any confusion. I’m so glad I did read the first two novels, Junk and Stuff, before Scrap because they set the pace, and having only just become familiar with Josephine Myles’ work, I then knew what to expect.

Both Grant and Dare have misguided ideas about the other because they’ve both stereotyped each other. Grant comes off as a bit of a cheating stuffed-shirt when we first meet him in the previous stories, and Dare is a bit of a braggart, so when these two finally come together in Scrap, the layers start to peel away and expose them for who they really are.

Grant is having a tough time when it comes to being honest and coming out of the closet. Deep down, he is an honest man who cares about those he knows he’s hurting. The same goes with Dare, who comes off as a bit of a toughy, with the bald head, tattoos, and gauges, but he has a soft spot for those he loves, especially his troubled brother.

Scrap can’t really be tagged with a friends with benefits label, because these two men don’t start off as friends. It’s more like they’re two blokes getting off on each other until something better comes along…that is, before they started to get to know each other. And what eventually happens towards the end is rather sweet.

What I really enjoyed about Scrap was the characters and the plot both had depth to them. It’s not a light, fluffy read. All in all, I’ve found myself a new author I would gladly read more from, and Scrap won’t end up on the scrap heap. It’s ended up on my permanent faves list as a re-read.

The Novel Approach is pleased to welcome the Brit Boys: On Boys tour today.

The question was posed to the participating authors in the collection:

A lot of British authors set their books in the US, are your books normally set in the UK and does it make a difference to your style of writing?

You’ll find their answers below, as well as an excerpt, the blurbs for each book, and here’s a Rafflecopter link to enter for the chance to win a $10 Gift Card for All Romance eBooks.

And now, I give you the authors of Brit Boys: On Boys. Enjoy!

M.K. Elliott:
Actually, I do set a lot of stories in the US, but not always. I’ve travelled a lot and so set my stories all over the world. I do change my style depending on the setting and the nationality of the characters. Plus, the language, and obviously the spelling changes too. But I have editors who work with me to make sure I don’t make a mess of it!

Lucy Felthouse:
The vast majority of my stories are based in the UK, purely because it’s the place I know best. Some of my much shorter works could, in theory, be based anywhere. But because I live in the UK and I’m British, I know I can write a more realistic story with realistic characters by using the Brit angle. I have written stories based elsewhere, including Paris, Rome, New York and California, to name but a few. The latter two in particular took a lot of research as I’ve never been to those places, and some of the characters involved were American. We may technically speak the same language, but there are so many nuances between British and American English that you just don’t realise until you’re trying to write it down!

I don’t think it changes my writing style, as such, but let’s just say if I’m writing places I don’t know and characters that aren’t British, it’s much harder work to get it right!

Clare London:
I used to write in a generic-US world because I thought that was what readers wanted, but now I’ve settled far more happily into UK settings. As a writer, it’s a joy to return to trousers instead of pants, and pavements instead of sidewalks. And I’m sure readers enjoy it, too!

KD Grace:
I write books set both sides of the pond. It very much makes a difference in the style of writing. I think I write much more understated, tongue in cheek when I write stories set in the UK and much more deliberately over the top and in-your-face when I write stories set in the US. I wasn’t born in the UK, so the voices of my characters are often voices of transplants.

Ashe Barker:
I almost always set my books in the UK, usually in the north of England. I like to write about places I know and love, and hopefully do them justice.

Sarah Masters:
I usually always write my m/m based in London. I have written a couple set elsewhere, but prefer London. My family come from there so maybe that’s why I choose that location.

Lily Harlem:
I’m about 50/50 US and UK. When I write a book set in the US with US characters I rely on my US editor to pick me up if I make too many Britishisms or my character starts saying ‘whoops a daisy’! I’ve been to the US quite a few times and I tend to pick places I’ve been for my US stories, that makes it easier when trying to describe the ambience and the scenery.

Josephine Myles:
I only set my books in the UK, because setting is really important to me and I want my stories to feel authentic in that respect. I could probably set a short in a foreign country that I’d visited, but I’d be wary of setting a whole novel anywhere I didn’t know intimately. As to whether it affects my writing… I suppose it does. My stories are exceedingly British, and that’s something readers seem to either love or hate. I suspect I might be a Marmite writer, which is only fitting as Marmite is so quintessentially British. For the record, I love Marmite, especially in truffles.

EXCERPT (from Bodywork by Ashe Barker):
Graham’s bedroom is unfussy, but with just enough in the way of creature comforts to escape being utilitarian. A solid teak bed—very sturdy, with a matching double wardrobe and drawers. He has a huge television screen mounted on the wall facing the bed, and a door leads to the en suite bathroom. That’s all the detail I manage to take in before we come together in a frenzy of kissing and shedding of clothes. We roll across the bed, kicking off shoes, unfastening shirts. I tug my work T-shirt over my head at the same time as Graham unzips my jeans. He reaches for my cock, now fully erect, and squeezes it in his fist.

“Oh, God. Oh, fucking hell.” I let out the low moan as he draws his hand along the length of my dick, slow at first, then pumping faster. I manage to wriggle out of my jeans and shorts without causing him to break contact, and somehow toe off my socks as well.

Now I’m naked, but Graham is still wearing his trousers. Not good. Nowhere near good enough. I grab the waistband and pop the button.

Graham chuckles. “Wait, not so fast.”

“Yes, so fast.” I don’t want to seem over eager, but shit…!

“Condoms?”

“In my jeans.” I’m not given to bouts of religious fervour but I offer up thanks to any deity who might be listening that I am blessed with an innate sense of responsibility and self-preservation, which means I am never unprepared. Well, not entirely. I hope Graham can lay his hands on some lubricant, although I’m not against a little improvisation. I roll to the edge of the bed and rummage among my discarded clothes to retrieve three foil packets. Should be enough. I hope. For now.

“Give.” Graham holds out his free hand.

I’m grateful that he hasn’t seen fit to release his grip on my cock. I drop the condoms into his palm and return to my task of relieving him of his pants.

Graham glances at the condoms. His grin is lust-filled. I suspect my optimism is not misplaced. He tosses the sachets onto the pillow.

Moments later we are both naked. His tackle is in my hand, swelling, solid, seriously impressive. I clench my arse in anticipation. This is going to be one hell of a tight fit, but I like it like that. I cup his balls with my other hand. They feel heavy and I squeeze. He twitches in my hands, and groans.
“Christ, Alex. Don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop.”

The thought never entered my head. Graham’s fist is still stroking up and down my dick but the pace has become more leisurely now as my work on his cock grabs his undivided attention. I don’t mind that, don’t care. There’s time, and I want to please him, to give him as much pleasure as I’m able.

I shift into a kneeling position beside him and lean over to lick the head of his cock. The slit is already opening to leak droplets of clear, slick pre-cum. It tastes salty, the tang familiar yet unique, a flavour that is just Graham. I open my lips to take in the head and as much of his length as I can manage. I start by using the pocket of my inner cheek, but I’m soon shifting position again, now kneeling between his legs to draw the whole of his dick into my mouth and throat.

Graham’s fingers are in my hair, holding my head, but he doesn’t try to force the pace. It wouldn’t bother me if he did, I don’t mind things getting a bit rough. Even so, I appreciate his restraint, his good manners.

I suck on his cock, using my hands to massage his balls. Graham is writhing under me, his low moans and breathy, guttural curses telling me in no uncertain terms that I’m on the right track. I speed up, ramp up the pressure. I press harder, squeeze a little more, digging my fingers into the rough skin of his scrotum. I scrape my teeth along the wide, swollen head, then swipe my tongue over the smooth curves. The trickle of pre-cum builds, delicious, both sweet and tart at the same time. My saliva mingles with it as I bob my head up and down to take as much of him as I possibly can.

“Alex, I’m close…”

I ignore the warning, tightening my grip on his nuts as his orgasm builds and boils within him. He stiffens in my hands, poised in those final few moments. I continue to work him hard and fast. With a muffled obscenity his cock leaps in my mouth and the hot flood of semen hits the back of my throat. I was expecting it, but still I have to work to swallow, to keep my airway clear. The jizz continues to flow, his balls pumping the warm fluid into my mouth as fast as I can swallow it.
I don’t lose a drop. Not one. When Graham finally stops coming I remain in place to clean every last smear from his dick before raising my head. I lick my lips as I admire his expression of contentment, He’s an attractive man—I’d thought that the moment I’d set eyes on him. In this moment, relaxed, sated, he is utterly beautiful.

I flop back down alongside him. He turns to me and cups my cheek.

“Thank you. It’s been a while…”

“Yeah?” I find that something of a surprise but make no further comment as Graham props himself up on one elbow to lean over me.

His kiss is more gentle now, less demanding. Exploring, tasting, sharing the exquisite flavour of his release, the residue still lingering in my mouth.

“God, that’s so sexy. So fucking hot.” He murmurs the words against my neck and reaches for my dick again. His caress is still firm, just the way I like it.

I can get off like this, but I really prefer…

“Fuck me.” I can hear the growl in my voice—being randy as a tomcat will do that for me every time.

“Sure. Love to.”

Blurbs:
From east to west and north to south, these British boys are having a blast in and out of the bedroom with the men of their dreams. They’re topping and bottoming from London to Cardiff, living out fantasies in the wildest fells and hooking up while serving HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

With passion and lust the name of the game, nothing is off limits. Throw in honed muscles, high-strength testosterone and an accent to die for and there is nothing they can’t do and no one they can’t get in this world or another.

Bodywork By Ashe Barker:
Alex is doing okay. His body repair shop makes enough to live on, he has a decent apartment, life is fine. That all changes when he runs into Graham in a supermarket car park – literally. He offers to fix the damage to Graham’s car free of charge. The sparks soon fly, and the heat between them has nothing to do with welding equipment.

Breaking the Marine By M.K. Elliott:
Brandon Rosen hadn’t planned for his final night before enrolling in the Royal Marines to involve a hot stranger and a pub car park. And he certainly hadn’t planned for that same hot stranger to turn up at the barracks in the form of his Drill Instructor, Corporal Will Stewart. In the testosterone fuelled environment of the training camp, can Brandon and Will overcome past pains and face up to what they really want? Or will the Royal Marine Commando School break their relationship before it even gets started?

Love on Location By Lucy Felthouse:
When Theo Samuels heads off to film on location in the village of Stoneydale, he’s expecting drama to take place on camera, not off. But when he meets gorgeous local lad, Eddie Henderson, he struggles to ignore his attraction. A relationship between the two of them would be utterly impractical, yet they’re drawn together nonetheless. Can they overcome the seemingly endless hurdles between them? Or is their fling destined to remain as just that?

Landscapes By K D Grace:
Alonso Darlington has a disturbing method of keeping landscaper, Reese Chambers, both safe from and oblivious to his dangerous lust for the man. But Reese isn’t easy to keep secrets from, and Alonso wants way more than to admire the man from afar. Can he risk a real relationship without risking Reese’s life?

The Chase By Lily Harlem:
Steve’s killing time working in a comedy club. Why not? It makes him laugh and both the clientele and the comedians are not just fit but also great company. One stand up joker decides to create a wild goose chase for Steve and his ex Robert. Cavorting around Cardiff on a frosty night, however, does more than just show them the way to a threesome, it also reveals the reasons why they should give each other one more shot.

Dish of the Day By Clare London:
Richie’s sunk all his hopes and savings into a new restaurant in south London promoting British ingredients and recipes. His best friends Craig and Ben should be around to help him celebrate the grand opening, but it looks like it’s all heading for disaster – until his friends step in to tell him some home truths. Then they’ll help him relax and enjoy their loving, intimate menu instead.

E2 By Sarah Masters:
When Archie meets Dan after The Change, he realises there is no such thing as a random meeting of soul mates, it’s all mapped out in the stars. Now all he’s got to do is hope those orbiting planets stay in alignment and true love finds him again.

Locked Out By Josephine Myles:
Getting accidentally locked out of his hotel room on Valentine’s Day night is embarrassing enough for teacher Martin Cooper, but the fact he’s stark naked makes it even worse. It doesn’t help that the one person he runs into is Rod, the gorgeous man he’d been checking out earlier in the hotel pool. But when Rod offers Martin a refuge, the night heats up. Now if only Martin could get the hang of this seduction business…

Jeff White’s needs are simple. All he wants is a submissive to help him explore the dominant side that his ex-girlfriend couldn’t handle. Problem is, inexperience in both dating and domming has resulted in a string of rejections.

What he needs is an experienced sub willing to show him the ins and outs of controlling a scene. Unfortunately, the only one willing to take him on is male, and Jeff is straight. One hundred percent, never-gonna-happen straight. Continue reading →

Hi. My name’s Jo, and I’m addicted to window shopping in vintage clothes shops. And I really do mean window shopping as I rarely ever buy anything, but still they lure me in every time. It makes it difficult getting down into town when I have to walk past at least five different vintage boutiques!Continue reading →

Blurb: Tobias “Mas” Maslin doesn’t need much. A place of his own, weekends of clubbing, a rich boyfriend for love and support. Too bad his latest sugar daddy candidate turns out to be married with kids. Mas wants to be special, not someone’s dirty little secret.Continue reading →

TNA: We’re so pleased to have Josephine Myles dropping in as our guest today on her blog tour to promote the re-release of Tailor Made, in anticipation of the long awaited sequel, Custom Fit. Take it away, Jo!

Josephine: It had always been my intention to write a sequel, but I decided I wanted to wait to do so until it was out of the original two year contract with Amber Quill Press. This meant I could get a sexy new cover and a strong series identity for the two books.

Revisiting Tailor Made was essential to make sure I was prepared for starting the sequel (Custom Fit, out in the summer!), but I’d have wanted to anyway before self-publishing it. I felt like readers deserved the best I could write, and so I went through it all again with a fine-tooth comb, and paid for a professional proof-read to catch any errors that slipped through in the first edition.

TNA: As you went through your revisions, what things stood out upon revisiting that you wish you’d done differently in its original inception?

Josephine: Honestly, apart from minor things like word choice, there wasn’t anything I wanted to change. I’d thought initially that I might want to stretch things out and add a scene or two of Felix and Andrew getting to know each other before the first sex scene, but when I read it again I changed my mind. I think I’d just been influenced by a couple of reviewers who questioned how quickly Andrew gave in to Felix’s seduction. Reading it, though, I thought that was perfectly in character for a horny teenage lad, even if he was intending to save himself for Mr. Right.

I suspect some readers look for reflections of how they would have behaved in a situation, and I think men tend to be a lot less picky than women are about who they will sleep with, and how soon they’ll do so after meeting someone. Please feel free to argue with me on that in the comments—I know some men and women are different!—but as a general theory I’ve found it backed up by most men (gay, straight and bi) that I’ve spoken to.

Basically, I want my characters to read like “real”, everyday men, not like some idealised version of them. While I know I could appeal to more readers if I made them closer to the romance novel ideal, I have to write what feels true to me.

TNA: Did Felix and Andrew stand the test of time, did you find things about them you felt needed changed and/or perfected?

Josephine: I was very happy with both their characters, but what I did take issue with was my tendency to use overly complicated words and phrasing. While I could accept Felix using some pretentious words (he’d been studying academic texts about art, after all), I just couldn’t see them being part of Andrew’s vocabulary. I had him saying things like “dissonance” when he could have just said “clash”. That all needed cleaning up.

TNA: How did you come up with the idea for the story when you wrote it?

Josephine: The original prompt was for a college story, and I remember thinking I’d write one about an art student and a lecturer at university, because I thought the whole transgressive thing would be fun to write. But for some reason the arrogant art lecturer just wasn’t an appealing character, and I ended up making him into Saul, the antagonist in Tailor Made. Proof that even bad ideas have some uses!

Andrew was created as the perfect foil for Felix. Someone who values craft over the pretentiousness of conceptual art. At the time of writing I was frustrated at not being able to use my sewing machine, as I’d moved to a very small house in order to save money when making the gamble of going full time as a writer. There was no room to set up even a small table for dressmaking! I think Andrew sprung from that frustration, and my annoyance at myself for not having pursued dressmaking more seriously when I was younger.

TNA: Do you believe art should challenge perception and push the envelope?

Josephine: No. My issue there is with the word “should”. I take a craftman’s approach to art and I think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with art intended purely for aesthetic appreciation, or indeed in art that is functional—making beautiful furniture, for instance. I don’t object to conceptual and abstract art per se, but I get annoyed when pretentious academic types hold that up as the purest form of art there is. I’m more a follower of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, who believed things should be both beautiful and useful.

Thanks for having me over to chat, Lisa, and I’ll see you at GRL in October!

Jo x

TNA: Thanks for being here, Jo, see you in Chicago!

BLURB: When Mr. Wrong measures up just right!

College tart Felix McAvoy is used to causing a stir with his conceptual art pranks, but for his final show, he’s planning something even more outrageous. In a last ditch attempt to seduce his jaded tutor, Felix plans to wear the canvas in a subversive display. However, if he’s going to do this right he’ll need a tailor-made canvas suit. Fortunately, he knows just the tailor to turn to for the favour—and Felix isn’t shy about offering favours of a very different kind in return.

First year fashion student Andrew Wheeler knows Felix by reputation only—and plans to keep things that way. Andrew’s determined to save himself for the man of his dreams, and Felix couldn’t be more different from his ideal Mr. Right. There’s only one use Andrew will contemplate for Felix’s body: a model for his end of year project. Trouble is, it’s going to involve a lot of close contact with a nearly naked Felix, and Andrew’s never had temptation quite so close at hand!

Buy Tailor Made in all e-formats at:

EXCERPT: Chapter Two

Felix was halfway down the art block corridor before he realised he hadn’t peered into Saul’s office like he usually did. He halted for a moment, contemplating heading back. Saul was usually in his office at this time of day, and Felix could always come up with some kind of excuse to monopolise his attention for a few minutes. But nah, he’d give up the pleasure today. After all, Felix was on his way to sort out his sexy suit, which would definitely catch Saul’s attention in the long run. Actually, doing it naked would have been the best bet, but nudity had been banned, just like the bodily fluids—which, contrary to what Andrew thought, hadn’t been entirely down to Felix’s coloured-watermasquerading-as-piss iceberg.

Last year, Grant deHavilland had grossed out every last exhibition goer by sitting at a wooden desk eating out of a catering sized jar of apple sauce, and then throwing up into a bowler hat after every fifth mouthful. The stench had been unbelievable. He’d called it “Magritte, Reconstituted.” Felix still hadn’t quite been able to figure out what the purpose was behind that little piece of subversion, but if it had been to annoy the university management, it had worked like a treat.

As he crossed the deserted quadrangle on his way to the textiles block, Felix wondered what on earth had possessed him to sign up for a degree at an institution that prided itself on conceptual art. He knew he’d been swayed by the sheer beauty of Bath the city, but he’d been offered other places. He could have chosen a university where his drawing and painting skills would have been fostered, but instead he found himself desperately thinking up new ways to shock the tutors out of their jaded, “seen it all before” attitude. What had been fun in his first year was becoming more and more like hard work, and the thought of moving to London and trying to make a career out of more of the same didn’t exactly have him jumping up and down with enthusiasm. Try as he might, he just couldn’t picture himself hanging out with Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin, swapping notes on the best way to pickle a sheep or embroider the names of all your past shags onto a tent.

Still, if there was one thing he was looking forward to, it was seeing Andrew again. Felix hadn’t been able to get the bloke out of his head all day. Every time he moved, his unfamiliar underwear reminded him of their impending meeting. How the hell did anyone ever concentrate on sport, wearing a jockstrap? There’s no way he’d be able to keep his mind on the ball—not unless it was one of the pair
currently being cradled by the silky fabric.

This time, when he pushed his way through the textile studio door, Andrew was waiting, leaning against the wall looking all neat and buttoned up in his blue shirt and flawless black jeans.

“Your top male model has just entered the building,” Felix announced as he twirled on the spot. Unfortunately he misjudged the closeness of one of the tables and ended up bumping into it. “Whoops! Better get practicing those moves, hadn’t I? Will you be wanting any mincing, because it may not come naturally but I reckon I can have a good stab at it.” He demonstrated with a hand on his hip and a pronounced pout.

Andrew’s lips gave a twitch, just like they had yesterday. God, Felix wanted to make this man smile. He’d look amazing happy. Everyone did though, didn’t they? Well, except Saul, who had smouldering arrogance down to a T and only ever gave cruel smiles.

“Let’s leave the catwalk practice till nearer the time. You don’t need to do anything outrageous.”

“But outrageous is my middle name, Andy-baby.”

“Would you stop calling me that!”

Felix grinned. “Whatever you say, sugarplum.” He shrugged off his leather jacket and threw it on the table. “Now, where do you want me? And I must warn you, I didn’t manage to get hold of a vest.”

Andrew huffed, but then drew in a sharp breath as Felix stripped off his T-shirt.

Felix turned around slowly, giving Andrew time to get a good look at his torso. It was a pleasant view, even if he did say so himself. Felix might not be a bulked up gym bunny, but he had a set of weights and made sure he put in a good hour’s work out a couple of times a week, and walking up and down all the bloody hills in Bath took care of the rest of his fitness regime. God knew how anyone ever managed to get fat in a city like this. Starving, carless art students certainly couldn’t afford to.

When Felix turned back to face Andrew he was delighted to see the want written plain in those eyes. They glittered with it, dark and demanding. Felix started on his jeans, flipping the buttons slowly, teasing.

Hi again, everyone, I hope you’ve all a great week and quiet weekend filled with lots of great reading. Thanks for stopping by to see what we’ve got in store for you in the coming week. We’ve got some first time visitors to TNA headed our way, and are excited for the return of some old friends, so here’s what we have on tap:

Monday – Jay Northcote is our guest on her Not Just Friends Blog Tour, and she’s offering a giveaway of an e-copy of the book.

Tuesday – Hayden Thorne drops in to tell us about the re-release of her book Arabesque, and she’s offering an e-book giveaway.

Wednesday – Josephine Myles comes calling on her Tailor Made Blog Tour today, so be sure to stay tuned for her visit.

And, the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Yes, A.J. Corza returns today with “Got You Covered” and a review of some great cover artwork.

Thursday – Susan Mac Nicol has a new release from Dreamspinner Press, Waiting for Rain, and she’ll be stopping by on her blog tour to talk a bit about the book.

Friday – A.E. Via is our guest on her You Can See Me Blog Tour, and she’s offering a giveaway.

Saturday – The Absolute Write Blog Tour stops here, and there’ll be a giveaway of the anthology.

Jayson James is also back today to talk about his newest release, T.E.D., and to give away an e-copy of the book.

TNA: Hi, Josephine, thanks so much for being here with us today. Why don’t we start out by having you tell us a little bit about yourself? Hobbies, interests, odds and ends things that make you, you.

Jo: I’m pretty fickle when it comes to hobbies as I enjoy the learning curve better than the steady practice required to become a master of something. However, I’ve managed to keep a steady interest in textile crafts going over the last few years. I think it’s mainly driven by my frustration in knowing exactly what clothes I want to buy, but never being able to find them in the shops. Why can’t designers see into my head and cater to my every whim? It’s so unfair!

Apart from that, my main interests are spending time with my friends and my gorgeous daughter, Daisy, who has just turned eight. What else? I love a good cabaret show, dancing, parties, and am always keen to get dressed up: the more outrageous the outfit, the better! And like a good Brit I learnt to drink like a fish at a tender age. I’m a very happy, flirty drunk which is nice for those around me, but which does tend to get me into trouble every now and then when I succumb to the cocktails rather than sticking to the lager.

TNA: Have you always written M/M Romance, or is that something that came along later in your writing career? What is it that drew you toward wanting to explore gay relationships in your writing?

Jo: I started out writing pretentious literary short stories when I was at university… actually, that’s a lie. I started out writing cutesy stories involving my toys when I was a kid, but I was never seriously thinking out being published back then. I was more interested in being an astronaut when I grew up.

However, looking through my university notebooks I’ve found several ideas for stories that involved a gay romance subplot, so clearly that interest was always there. I suppose I’m drawn to it because I’m a bisexual who’s always been in het relationships, so perhaps it’s like exploring the me that never was… if I were a man.

TNA: What was your first published M/M title? Do you remember the precise moment you came up with the story idea and knew you wouldn’t rest until it was told?

Jo: The first single title I published was a short story called Insta-Love™, which came out with Dreamspinner back in October 2010. However, I’d had several shorts out in anthologies before then. As for longer titles, though, that was Barging In, in September 2011.

The inspiration for Insta-Love™ was a conversation in the comments over on Reviews by Jessewave, and it was influenced by my love of cyberpunk writer William Gibson, with a bit of Doctor Who thrown in for good measure.

TNA: If you could go back in time, to the moment you sat down and began writing that first book, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give yourself?

Jo: Don’t read your Goodreads and Amazon reviews! And don’t obsess over rankings and ratings. So many writers lose sleep and working time over these. I’ve gradually learnt to step back and leave these alone. Worrying about them doesn’t do me any good, and damages my ability to keep writing.

TNA: Let’s chat a little bit about your new book, Merry Gentlemen. Will you tell us a little bit about it and how you came up with the idea for the story?

Jo: Strangely enough, it all started with the seagull. I often have a real life comic incident as a kind of starting point for creating a plot (with The Hot Floor, it was the bathtub falling through the ceiling), and for some years now I’ve been meaning to write a story involving someone getting splashed head to toe in seagull shit while on a busy street. Hey, it happened to me, and so I wanted one of my characters to have to suffer through that embarrassment too!

From that starting point I added in the Bath Christmas Market setting, and the rest of the plot just snowballed from there.

TNA: Would you care to share an excerpt from Merry Gentlemen with us?

Jo: Certainly! Here’s a short scene when Riley and Stan meet up in the pub, just hours after seeing each other again for the first time in five years:

“Everything all right?” I asked as Stan and I faced off in the middle of the pub. I gave him my best insouciant smile, which I had on good authority could be downright infuriating. Stan’s authority, as it went. It had been one of the most reliable ways to wind him up back when we were together.

“If you’re after a fight, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I can’t box for shit. And I’ve got a note from my ma letting me off any kind of contact sport. Delicate bones, you know.”

“Didn’t look like you were after that kind of contact sport.” Stan’s voice had gone all gruff, and he had that single-minded look in his eyes I remembered so well. The one he got before he ripped my clothes off and shagged me into next week.

Oh yeah. Looks like I still had it. “Sweetheart, I’ve no idea what you’re getting at, but I can assure you I’m not going anywhere with you until you start treating me with a bit of respect. Or at least treat my clothes with respect. Do you have any idea how much this coat cost?” I peeled his fingers back from my arm, and he let go with a grunt of annoyance.

Stan crossed his arms over that broad slab of chest. “We need to talk, and I’m not doing it in here. What?”

I broke into song. “R. E. S. P. E. C. T, find out what—”

“For fuck’s sake! Do you plan on carrying on like this all night?”

“Like what, exactly?”

“Like a poster boy for camp. You’ve changed.”

I resisted the urge to start singing I Am What I Am. “This is just me, babe. I’m not the one who upped sticks and moved away to the back of beyond. I’d say you’ve changed. You’ve become tetchy.”

“Tetchy?” At Stan’s raised voice, a few more punters turned to watch us. Bugger. Probably should take this outside after all.

“So you really want to talk?” Although I loaded the last word with as much innuendo as it could carry, I honestly wasn’t intending to do anything other than have a quick chat, then blow him off. Not the good kind of blowing off, either. If Stan really thought I’d put out for him after everything he’d put me through over the last five years, he was in for a nasty surprise. I glanced back at my table of colleagues and noticed a few of them were peering interestedly in our direction. “I’m not doing this in front of my workmates,” I said. “Come on. We can talk outside.”

Stan’s expression set into a stony blank. “Forget it.”

“Forget what? Come on. We’ve got years to catch up on. Five of them? Don’t you even want to know what I’ve been doing? Or who I’ve been doing?”

Jealous rage punched its way through that granite mask, and I wondered for a second the wisdom of goading him. He always had been a possessive bastard. I’d rather liked it at the time, though. “Outside, now,” he snarled and hauled me by the arm towards the door.

“That’s what I was just saying, wasn’t it?” I retorted, but the breathless shock in my voice kind of detracted from the comeback.

“Where are we going?” I asked, once we’d hit the cold night air. Stan didn’t answer, but the direction of his steps had a crashing inevitability. “Not your chalet. Oh come on, haven’t you had enough of the place today? How about we go to your hotel? You are staying in Bath, right? Or my place. I’m still in the same flat, you know. I really haven’t changed.”

I still love you, I stopped myself from adding, because that was clearly bullshit. Who would be pathetic enough to still pine for the man who dumped them a whole five years later? No, this was just a mild case of sexual obsession, and luckily enough, it looked like Stan was similarly afflicted. I mean, the man couldn’t even wait to get me inside the bloody chalet before I was slammed up against the wooden slats, his mouth hungrily closing in on mine.

TNA: I know this is sort of like asking you to name your favorite child, but of all the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite? If so, which and why?

Jo: Tough one, as generally it’s going to be the one I’m working on right now—or the one I’m about to write that only exists as this perfect idea in my head! If pushed, though, I think it might have to be The Hot Floor, because I had so much fun writing that one. There were times I sat there, not believing how much porny smut was coming out of my imagination and wondering if I’d ever dare show it to anyone else, but once I did I lost all my shame about writing erotica. When you’ve written sweaty threeway armpit frottage, you don’t have much left to feel embarrassed about!

TNA: If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would you choose and why? What makes him or her someone you think would make an impression (good or bad) upon the world?

Jo: At the moment I’d have to say Mas from Junk, as I’ve been writing his story and I’d just love to meet him. I think he’s fantastically brave and bold, with a good heart. The world doesn’t make it easy for the more flamboyant gay men who can’t hide their sexuality, so I feel a huge amount of respect to those who can brazen it out without turning bitter.

TNA: What would you say are the best and worst parts of the writing process for you?

Jo: The best part is starting a new project, and the worst is forcing myself to work right through to the end! This is why I wrote so many short stories in the early days. I was always getting distracted by bright and shiny new ideas.

TNA: Are you a plotter or a pantser? Whichever you are, why do you feel that method works best for you?

Jo: I swing between the two depending on the project, but I have to admit I’m more of a pantser at heart. I need to know roughly where the story is going and will always have a few key scenes in my mind I know I want to write, but the journey to them is often a mystery and my plots have a way of changing as I write.

I prefer this way of writing as I love surprises. It’s thrilling and scary to set off on a journey of writing, not knowing where you’ll be going. My muse clearly prefers this way of writing, as the more I try to plot in advance, the more my ideas seem to diverge from the plan!

TNA: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

Jo: The ability to bend time so I had more hours in the day to get everything done—but at the same time, slowing down the aging process. Actually, what am I saying? I want to fly! I’ve always, ALWAYS wanted to be able to fly.

TNA: If time travel were possible, where would you go and why?

Jo: I’d love to know what my great grandmother was really like, so I’d probably go and see her perform as one of the Tiller Girls, then hang around the stage door afterwards. She’s a figure of family legend, and was apparently a great beauty who was once on the cover of Tatler. She ran off from boarding school to perform on stage, married a baritone singer, had an affair with a lord, and a portrait of her destined to some rich American gent went down with the Titanic. She was also an alcoholic and ran up debts all over the country, running away before the bailiffs could catch up. She sounds like a larger than life figure, and I’d love to know what she was really like, as opposed to the legends that have built up around her.

TNA: Would you care to share a little bit of information on any of your current WIPs?

Jo: I’m currently writing the next in the Bristol Collection series, which is Mas’s story. Lewis and Jasper from Junk appear several times, and it’s been great fun to revisit them. It’s particularly fascinating to realise how Lewis comes across to Mas, who has a very different view of him than Jasper does.

Thanks for having me over today, Lisa. It was great to chat, and I’m hoping we’ll get to do it in person sometime soon when I eventually make it over the pond for an event.

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Thanks so much for being here with us today, Jo. It’s been a pleasure having you!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

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Blurb:

’Tis the season of goodwill to all men…even the one who dumped you.

Riley MacDermott’s ambitions are simple. Managing the annual Bath Christmas Market—which involves long hours in the cold and a whole lot of hassle—will secure the promotion he needs to afford to move out of his noisy, top-floor flat. Where not even his balcony is safe from an aggressive herring gull.
The last stallholder he expects to see is his ex. Riley never recovered from their break up, and five years on the old chemistry still sparkles. So does their habitual head butting.

Stan never wanted to leave the love of his life, but the pull of the woods was too strong—and Riley was firmly planted in the city. Reconnecting is painful, but Stan still jumps at the chance to stay with his old flame during the Market. And damn the consequences.

As the weeks pass, the two grow closer than ever. But despite scorching sex and cozy intimacy, they both know they face a cold and lonely future. Unless one of them can compromise.

Warning: Contains sex in a shed, a seagull with a grudge, glamping, awful Secret Santa underwear, misuse of an Abba song, and as many wood-related puns as the author thought she could get away with.

Author bio:

English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. She blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

Jo is also one of the organising team behind the UK Meet, an annual event celebrating GLBTQ fiction. She publishes regularly with Samhain, and has also been known to edit anthologies and self-publish on occasion, although she prefers to leave the “boring bits” of the book creation process to someone else.

“Never, ever let a toppy git know just how much they turn you on, or you’ll spend your whole bloody life in a state of perpetual turned-on-ness.” – Josephine Myles

That’s pretty good advice coming from the city mouse who’s so in love with a toppy git country mouse that even though they broke up five years earlier, he can’t stop thinking about the life they’d once had together. But it all went tits up, you see, when the country mouse dropped out of the rat race to become a full-fledged woodsman, and that defection broke the city mouse’s heart.

Josephine Myles breaks a tropey little mold in Merry Gentlemen, taking the standard boy-meets-boy, boy-loses-boy, boy-gets-boy back formula and giving it a little twist, in that when the story opens, the boys had already met and were already kaput before the reader even gets the chance to relish in the angst of their breakup. But wait, it’s okay because when the country mouse comes back to the city, and the city mouse gets a gander at his ex-toppy git country mouse, it doesn’t take long to figure out there will still be plenty of “can I smack some sense into these two guys?” moments to get through, all to scratch and satisfy your angsty-loving itch.Continue reading →

“Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
I met a boy crazy for me
Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days drifting away
To, oh, oh, the summer nights”

This Summer Lovin’ is truly a blast! A hot and sweet confection good enough on a cold winter’s night! “Lovin’” is an anthology worth reading. The main theme is summer romances that turn into something more when the weather turns colder. The stories fell into two categories: vacation flings and summer jobs. Mostly they are told from one point of view, and in just a short amount of words, the stories drew you in and held you there. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I cared for these characters and wanted them to have their happy endings. And yes, the sex was pretty satisfying but that all depends on the caliber of the authors.

The quality of the writing was exceptional. All of the writers know how to weave words in such a manner to keep the reader, me, in the story. I didn’t want these stories to end. But as summer turns into fall, the book had to end too. :(

Summer Lovin’ is a must read on a cold night. It’ll warm your body and heart.

There is not a single one among us avid readers who won’t relate in even the tiniest way to Jasper Richardson. At least I hope it’s in the tiniest way; otherwise, you might have a problem. What we would call an addiction to fiction or a healthy obsession, Lewis and Carroll Miller would call a psychological affliction in Jasper, and it’s his affliction that’s at the crux of “Junk”.

Jasper’s a hoarder, you see, but he’s not just any old hoarder. No, Jasper hoards the written word: books, magazines, newspapers. You name it and Jasper has got it in piles from floor to ceiling throughout nearly his entire house. And as a university librarian, he’s got plenty of access to discarded items that he’s more than willing to give a good home, which he feels compelled to do because he can’t bear the thought of them falling into the wrong hands at best or be relegated to a recycling facility at worst. But that’s a mask, a result of something far more painful from Jasper’s past that’s manifesting itself through his hoarding.

Lewis and Carroll are the brother and sister team that Jasper contacts once his despair over the condition of his life hits critical mass, from the depression of living in a home with rooms he can no longer use because the doors are blocked closed by toppled piles of books, to the depression of having a home but no one there to share it with, which throws the emptiness of his life into sharp contrast with the fullness of the walls he lives behind. It took a lot of nerve for Jasper to finally make that first phone call. It took an act of incredible courage to agree to the therapy he’ll need to get to the heart of his hoarding addiction and to confess what lies behind it.

Admitting he has a problem is the first step, and that turns out to be the easiest step in the process of recovery for Jasper, especially when his feelings for Lewis become less than platonic and cause Lewis to pull away in the interest of his professional integrity. But it’s exactly those feelings for Lewis that become Jasper’s compulsion to change, to get his life in order so he can prove his feelings have nothing to do with his recovery and everything to do with the fact he’s fallen in love with a man whose kindness can fill his life better than any book ever could.

Who’d have ever thought that a book about a man who lives in a house with mildewed walls and windows, and stacks of outdated newspapers and magazines and books he’ll never, ever read could turn out to be a story that would totally win my heart? Josephine Myles made it happen almost instantly, in my affection for Jasper and my empathy for the love of his paper and ink stash. Were it not for e-readers, I imagine there are many of us whose homes would be overrun with the books we devour. It’s an obsession we all understand, and it made Jasper so relatable.

Though it wasn’t easy, Lewis helps Jasper recover control of his life, but Jasper also helps Lewis find a happiness that has always eluded him. These two men were made for each other, like a closed book just waiting for the right someone to come along and open it up to see and love all the secrets it holds inside.

This is another Josephine Myles novel I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to recommend. This new cast of characters is just that, complete characters whose quirks and idiosyncrasies made this book both fun and heartwarming to read. Plus, there are a couple of characters who show up that you may just recognize from the short story “When In Amsterdam…” from the anthology Winter Warmers. I loved that crossover a lot.

When creating the character of a book hoarder in Junk, I didn’t have to look too far for inspiration. Like many avid readers, I’ve gone through periods of owning far too many books. However, I’ve now got it down to a smallish collection I can manage. The main issue was in deciding which sorts of books Jasper was particularly motivated to keep, and would therefore be able to hold onto while getting rid of the others.

For Jasper, as for me and countless other bookworms, the intense emotional connection to a good book began in childhood. I have vivid memories of sitting inside a duvet cover in the back garden, making my very own tent as I sat and lost myself in fictional worlds. The books I most loved in childhood are still on my shelves, and I had fun adding some of them to Jasper’s collection. Here are ten of all my all-time favourite children’s books, in no particular order:

Probably my all time favourite book. I remember borrowing it from the library as a child, and it was a splendid copper silk covered hardback with the two strands of the story written in green and red ink… just like the book inside the story! I now own a scruffy, much read paperback version but I’m still hankering after my own silk covered hardback. Of course, they’re now highly collectible and cost a small fortune. One of these days…

An out-of-print classic. I loved this for both Boswell’s wonderfully detailed illustrations you can get lost in, and The Raggle Taggle Gypsies—I often fantasised about running off with the gypsies or the circus when I was a child. Still do sometimes, I must admit! My copy of the book is missing a spine and has kitten stickers on some of the pages, but I’ve kept it despite having a newer, intact copy which I read to my daughter. And just like my mum did for me when I was a girl, I sing The Raggle Taggle Gypsies to her :)

Ronia the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

I always preferred this to the more famous Pippi Longstocking books. This is one of those books all young girls should read, as it’s a great antidote to saccharine and stereotypical versions of what little girls should be like. I wanted to run around in the forest and have adventures like Ronia. In fact, I still do…

I have to add a caveat: I’m only interested in the version illustrated by Sir John Tenniel. That was the one I grew up with and that’s what everything looks like to my mind. There seems to be a popular idea that kids don’t like the Alice books and it’s only adults they appeal to. Nonsense! I loved these bizarre stories when I was a child, particularly the second one. I might not have understood what he was going on about half the time (mathematics, apparently), but that didn’t stop me enjoying the absurd storyline.

This book has a special significance to some of the characters in Junk, and is referenced several times.

I remember being nonplussed for years as to why my aunt and uncle kept buying me these books for birthday and Christmas, and then I finally tried reading them. I was hooked! On the Banks of Plum Creek is still my favourite, though, with the plague of locusts and various disasters that the Wilder family had to live through.

A wonderfully atmospheric tale with an intrepid orphan girl uncovering mysterious goings on in her new home—the wonderfully named Moonacre Manor. Enchanting, and just as good to read again as an adult. Also, Maria has the best bedroom ever!

A subversive and humorous twist on the standard fairytale princess trope, where the princess is perfectly plain and ordinary, and runs off to live in the forest rather than be married off to a prince. Also, she has a pet red squirrel and a necklace made out of acorns. What’s not to like?!

***

As you can see, illustrations are incredibly important to me too, and all of these books have ones that I love.

I’ve revisted all of these books as an adult, and they haven’t diminished in any way. In fact, I’m even better placed now to judge how much wisdom for life there is in books like The Little Prince and The Neverending Story. These are books I return to every few years when I want something that both comforts reaffirms what’s important in life, and to my mind they’re far superior to the spiritual growth fables written for adults, like Coelho’s The Alchemist. There’s a part of us that will always remain a child, and children’s books speak directly to that inner core.

Readers, what were the books that first got you passionate about reading? Please share the love of your childhood favourites!

Prize giveaway:THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Junk

Letting go is the first step to healing…or bringing it all crashing down.

When an avalanche of books cuts off access to his living room, university librarian Jasper Richardson can no longer ignore the truth. His ever-growing piles of books, magazines and newspapers can no longer be classified as a “collection”. It’s a hoard, and he needs professional help.

Professional clutter clearer and counselor Lewis Miller thinks he’s seen it all, but even he has to admit he’s shocked. Not so much by the state of Jasper’s house, but by the level of attraction he still feels for the sexy bookworm he remembers from school.

What a shame that Lewis’s ethical code forbids relationships with clients. As Jasper makes slow but steady progress, though, the magnetic pull between them is so strong even Lewis is having trouble convincing himself it’s a temporary emotional attachment arising from the therapeutic process.

Jasper longs to prove to Lewis that this is the real deal. But first he’ll have to lay bare the root of his hoarding problem…and reveal the dark secret hidden behind his walls of books.

Warning: Contains a level-headed counselor with a secret addiction, a bespectacled geek with a sweet tooth, a killer “to-be-read” pile, embarrassing parents, a van called Alice, and deliciously British slang.

English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.

For more information about Jo’s published stories, regular blog posts and saucy free reads, visit JosephineMyles.com

The Joyful Approach Countdown To GayRomLit 2013 is in full swing, and so far the reception has been pretty spectacular. In case you missed it, I have the full schedule posted HERE, including links to the posts that have already gone live, both here and at Joyfully Jay’s place. Some of those giveaways are already closed, but you can still go check out what the authors had to say. I’ve also added another author to the celebration, so watch out for Carter Quinn’s visit on October 1st!

This Week’s GayRomLit Visitors include:

–M.A. Church on August 26th, with a giveaway of her new book, Shadows in the Night– On August 27th, Lily Velden will be here with a giveaway of her latest release, The Race Is On: Book 2 How the Light Gets In– Wednesday, the 28th, we’ll be hosting Shannon West, and she’ll be offering one lucky reader the chance to win her new book, Bloodlust

But wait, there’s more! We also have a couple of great authors visiting with us apart from the Joyful Approach Celebration.

On Thursday, the 29th, Josephine Myles will be here on her Junk Blog Tour. She’s offering a couple of great items to a lucky winner, including a sexy book tote and a $5 E-book gift voucher. She’ll be giving you a link to all the details in her post.

Finally, on August 30th, we’ll be hosting Taylor V. Donovan on her Six Degrees of Separation (By Degrees Book 2) Blog Tour. Stay tuned for details on what Ms. Donovan will be up to during her visit.

And of course, as always, we’ll have plenty of reviews coming too. We hope to see you around for the fun!

The great thing about a short story is that it doesn’t have to trawl through someone’s whole life; it can come in glancingly from the side. – Emma Donoghue

Sometimes the title of a book says it all. Case in point, Josephine Myles’ Blooming Marvelous and Collected Stories, an omnibus of nine short stories all penned by none other than Jo herself.

Each of these stories has been published in other anthologies or posted as free reads on Josephine’s website, so some, or all of them, may be familiar to you. But even though I’d already read a couple of them, I have to say they were well worth revisiting along with experiencing the new ones for the first time.

The anthology’s namesake, Blooming Marvelous, is a May/December story starring Ky, a tagger who’s performing community service for sharing his particular brand of art on public property. James is the new man on duty—And I won’t tell you the reason, because it’s such a good one!—who couldn’t really be more different from Ky if he tried, which is what makes this such a great opposites attract story, not to mention Ky himself, who makes the reading if this sexy morsel more than deserving of the lead-off spot in the collection.

Next up is Demon du Jour, a paranormal romp in which the spectacularly well endowed Gavin practices a little sex magic and ends up getting something he didn’t bargain for—namely a male succubus—when he was actually aiming for a demon with particularly different bits and pieces. Gavin comes to discover—pun fully intended—that sometimes accidentally ordering off the menu isn’t such a bad thing, when Xander proves that variety is indeed the spice of life.

I fully admit that I was excited to read River Rat, being a particular fan of both Barging In and Boats in the Night. Revisiting the river life with Ryan, the art student, who’s completely caught up in Kev, the boater, was a study in frustration at times for Ryan, believing that he was never going to get his shot with the gypsy man of his dreams.

It all comes together too right in the end, of course, in a very steamy way, and with the promise of a knotty little kink in their future.

Three Wishes is the story in the collection that contains not a hint of sex, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in any way at all. In fact, this particular story is the one I was most touched by. It’s a can’t-see-the-forest-for-the-trees story, for lack of a better way of describing it, in which Eddie receives a very special gift from his friend Tyler and learns that making wishes simply means making your own luck. It’s a story in which Eddie has been missing something that’s been right in front of him all along, and when Eddie finally wakes up to the realization that Tyler is the true gift, it’s a sweet promise that left me wanting more.

If you’ve ever wondered where the Devil went, look no further. He’s in Swindon getting busy with Darren Lock, who plays the young Faustian character to Nick’s Dark Angel, in The Devil Went Down to Swindon.

Hoping to further his music career, Darren makes a deal with the Devil—he’ll sell Nick his soul, or at least his body, if Nick will help make Darren a star. Well, you all know the old saying “the devil is in the details?” There’s some truth to that in this twisty little tale, because when the details are revealed, it turns out the Devil isn’t all he’s made himself out to be.

There’s not a trace of hellfire and brimstone in The Devil Went Down to Swindon, but that doesn’t mean this story isn’t hot. It is, and it ends with the promise of an unlikely romance.

Passive Resistance is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy in which Gerryn will use a pair of Mithrianni Circlets to capture the heart of Sarkan, a sometimes friend-with-benefits, although the benefits part is somewhat dubious for poor Gerr.

Their arrangement works a bit like this: Gerr is Sarkan’s beck-and-call boy because for better or for worse, Gerr loves him. Sarkan uses Gerr whenever he’s between men because he knows that Gerr will never say no. But things are about to change, and Gerr’s determined to take control of this situation before he’s forced to make some drastic changes in his life.

The play’s the thing in this story. Not the kind with actors and scripts but the kind that includes lots of bodily exploration, boldly going where these two men have never gone before, and discovering that they don’t want to go anywhere with anyone else.

The seventh story in the collection isn’t at all like the fairy tale The Frog Prince, though there are plenty of frogs to be found in it.

Jasper Fitzroy is interested in a couple of things: 1.) organizing the Frog Patrol to help the little hoppers cross the road and get them safely to the other side, and 2.) making sure that Simon Goodchild will be there to help do it.

Of course Simon has every intention of being there since he has a crush on the very possibly straight Jasper, but it’s not until after they have the frogs safely transported and everyone’s gone home that things really heat up. There’s no kissing any frogs in this tale, but there’s a lot of kissing, among other things, to keep the story interesting.

Jasper has a little family dirty laundry and, as they say, confession is good for the soul, especially when your confessor isn’t there to judge, but offers absolution just the same.

If a little role playing fantasy is your cup of tea, then you’re going to love Tea for Two, the story of Richard Weston and his servant Oscar, a boy who loves very much to be dominated by his Master.

It’s a little D/s and a little bit of rough in this who’s who that offered up not only an erotic scene but a bit of a surprising twist at the end that I don’t mind saying I never saw coming.

Rounding out the anthology is the second of the nine stories that I’d read and loved revisiting. Dragon Dance is a friends-to-boyfriends story set against the backdrop of the Chinese New Year and stars eighteen year olds, Archie, a Caucasian boy being raised by his Asian mom, and Gan, whose ancestry is fully Chinese.

It’s a time of discovery and more than a little anxiety for Archie, as he’s not only sure he’s gay but he’s also sure he’s in love with his straight best friend. So, what’s a boy to do when he spends so much time with the boy he can’t touch? Well, in Archie’s case, he waits until Gan finds the courage to tell Archie exactly what he’s been waiting to hear.

Josephine Myles’ characters always come to life in full blooming color on the page, sometimes cheeky, ever endearing, and always clever and sexy; if you love short stories, and most especially if you’re a Josephine Myles fan, I highly recommend giving this book a read.

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It’s the free short story Josephine Myles has written as a sequel to the fabulous Screwing the System! Just click on the cover image and it’ll take you straight to this much anticipated little morsel. I haven’t even read it yet because I was so excited to share.

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Some of you may already know this, but I’m sharing anyway, so there. Josephine Myles is out and about on a Screwing the System blog tour, and she’s offering to hand out a free goodie or two in the process, not the least of which is a suede flogger she made all on her onesies! Plus, on February 14th, just in time for Valentine’s Day, you’ll be able to find a FREE follow-up story to “Screwing” called Screw the Fags.

Click HERE to get all the information you’ll need to follow the tour and increase your chances of winning! :-D

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To touch is to heal
To hurt is to steal
If you wanna kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel
On your knees, boy — U2

Cosmo Rawlins isn’t really what you might call lazy. No, he’s more of what you’d call…aggressively unemployed. But he has his music! Yeah, he has his band to consider, so why would he want to submit to the drudgery of a 9 to 5-er when there’s practicing to do and songs to write and band members to clash with? He wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean Cosmo doesn’t have some experience with the interview process; his expertise in the world of the gainfully employed pretty much extends to knowing exactly how not to get a job but still qualify for those wonderful government bennies he enjoys. Everyone has their strengths, and Cosmo’s is knowing how to work the system without actually working.

The only question, then, is what do you do when you come up against someone who is a cog in that system and who’s at least equally proficient as you are at getting exactly what he wants? I reckon all you can do is bend over and take your licks—and like it.

Alasdair Grant is a self-made businessman who owns his own company, though he wasn’t always the corporate suit he is today. Oh no, Alasdair has a past that had nothing to do with following the status quo and being a slave to The Man, and everything to do with making an easy buck, which didn’t have much to do with a good work ethic and had everything to do with necessity. But now Alasdair is The Man, his work ethic has changed considerably since his biker days, so when he finds a very crafty Cosmo in his office, supposedly interviewing for a job, it becomes obvious pretty quickly that the only thing Cosmo’s working his hardest at is to avoid being hired for the position in Alasdair’s sanitary services company, and Alasdair decides then and there that Cosmo may be well suited for a very different, mutually beneficial position, a flexible and open position—on his knees, on his back, on all fours, bent over a table; it’s all relative, really, as long as Alasdair’s the boss and Cosmo’s following orders. But… there’s always a but, isn’t there?

See, Cosmo’s not exactly the sort of bloke who wants to be dictated to, at least not beyond sex. And even then, he’s only just learning that sexual submission can be pretty freaking intense, at least when he’s with Alasdair and Alasdair’s lighting his arse up with a flogger or a cane or his bare hand. But Alasdair… Alasdair’s a Dom, in the bedroom, the boardroom, where ever. He is in control and doesn’t know any other way to be, which causes a lot of conflict for both men, but it also teaches them a few things too, especially Alasdair, who learns that giving up a little bit of control is sometimes the only way to hang on to the one you love.

Screwing the System is the story of a man who sets out to claim and to tame a work-avoiding welfare abuser but instead discovers the secret to being in command may be far less about managing Cosmo’s life and far more about managing his own, living life on his own terms rather than living by the rules of good business, and forgiving himself and his ex-lover for an ending that was beyond their capacity to control.

This is a May/December romance between two men who are strong in different ways but in all the right ways for each other; it’s a story of teaching and of learning that the exchange of trust and the surrender of control is, in the end, the ultimate strength, and that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks as long as everything works between the only two who matter.

I loved Cosmo and Alasdair in much the same way I loved Ollie and Ben in Handle With Care, not for the similarities in their romance but in the fact that it was the younger men who came along with the passion for their art, and their cheek, and their take-no-prisoners attitudes, and turned the lives of their older men upside down.

Screwing the System will be available for purchase on February 12,2013 here:

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If you have and you loved it, go check out Double Trouble, the incredibly naughty little treat she’s offered up to her readers for the holidays. Evan, Rai, and Josh are up to all good in this steamy vignette starring my favorite threesome, wrapped up together in some sexy, sparkly and stripey goodness.